Schools extend breaks between classes

Students play games at recess at a primary school in Congjiang county, Guizhou province, on Sept 5. (SHI HONGHUI/FOR CHINA DAILY)

Primary and secondary schools across multiple Chinese cities have extended class breaks from 10 to 15 minutes from the start of the fall semester in an effort to encourage outdoor activities among both students and teachers.

Traditionally, schools in China have implemented 10-minute breaks between classes, which provided limited time for students, particularly those in multistory buildings, to engage in outdoor activities.

In some cases, schools also restricted students from leaving classrooms during breaks due to safety concerns.

The move to extend break times aligns with ongoing efforts by local education authorities to optimize school schedules, ensuring students can participate in at least 30 minutes of physical exercise a day. Cities including Beijing, Tianjin, and Qingdao in Shandong province, have incorporated longer breaks into students' routines.

In Beijing, the extended break times have been reallocated from longer recess periods and have not significantly affected students' overall schedules.

The times for morning arrival and afternoon dismissal remain unchanged in primary schools, while middle school dismissal has been extended by five minutes, according to the municipal education bureau.

Schools in the Xinwu district of Wuxi, in Jiangsu province, have implemented 15-minute breaks and mandated one physical education class daily. Students are required to engage in no less than 100 minutes of physical exercise on campus each day, promoting outdoor activity and social interaction, the district's education bureau said.

The bureau also banned early starts to classes and restrictions on students' break activities, emphasizing that the goal is to "return break time to the students".

A primary school in Qingdao introduced a variety of outdoor games, such as jump rope and hula hoop exercises, combined with indoor puzzle games during the 15-minute breaks, according to a local news report. The school organizes students by floor to ensure that every child can participate in outdoor activities. Physical fitness monitoring conducted in May showed that the percentage of Qingdao students achieving "excellent" or "good" fitness ratings had increased by 10 percentage points to 47 percent.